Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Institute, Siliguri, West Bengal, India and Bhakti Vedanta Institute of Spiritual Culture and Science, Princeton, NJ, USA, in collaboration with Synergy Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India are organizing an international conference, entitled “Is Science able to explain the Scientist? (Science and Scientist – 2013)” on December 8, 2013 in Bhubaneshwar, on the 76th holy appearance day of our Gurudev, Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja. The conference will be organized under the holy guidance of Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja, Ph.D., the Serving Director of the Bhakti Vedanta Institute, Princeton. It was the direct instruction of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodar Maharaja that it is very important to organize conferences in which the leading scientists should be invited to allow them to interact with the devotee scientists. Scientists control the intellectual thinking in modern society. Therefore to convert even a very few leading scientists will help the mission of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to spread all over the planet. Even Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura also said that the teachings of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will be recognized as the highest revelation among all the religious conceptions and pined for the day when such men of highest caliber would join the movement.

Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja was personally instructed by Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to pioneer the mission of Bhakti Vedanta Institute and humbly serve behind the footsteps of Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodar Maharaja. The movement is gaining strength because of this transcendental mercy. Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaja was an eternal well wisher of the mission of Bhakti Vedanta Institute and even instructed Sripad Maharaja and Sripad Puri Maharaja to build a temple over the tomb of Darwin. Srila Sridhar Maharaja said to Sripad Maharaja that it is very easy to construct a temple with bricks and cement but that was not the mission that was given to him by Srila Prabhupada. Srila Sridhar Maharaja many times said to Sripad Puri Maharaja, “I am just like you. My nature is just like yours,” thus accepting his philosophical and devotional mood of service.

Scientists are under two very important misconceptions: (1) Life is just an emergent property of complex chemical combinations under the forces of nature, (2) that inanimate nature (matter and energy) is the foundation from which the universe evolves. Due to this there is a difference in scientific opinion and religious understanding. As Mahaprabhu’s mercy is meant for everyone in this age, including the scientists, Srila Prabupada had envisioned this program of preaching to the scientists through conferences. Conference details can be found on the website: www.bviscs.org/scsi/conferences/scienceandscientist_03

The major theme is about biology and Srila Prabhupada’s two mantras for the scientists: (1) Life comes from Life, and 2) Matter comes from Life. When Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja suggested to the Nobel Biologist George Wald, who was a very big atheistic evolutionist of his time, why don’t you consider that, “Matter comes from Life”, he became convinced. After this he wrote a series of articles denouncing his own earlier stance and instead talked about how matter comes from Life. In this way he gradually became a devotee. When we discussed this matter with Prof. Bhargava, the Founder Director of CCMB, a big atheist and follower of Crick, he was aghast that the devotees had taken Wald away from the materialist camp and now he was posing many challenges to the dogmatic materialistic stand of the atheistic science. In this way the service of the scientific preaching has become a success. Srila Prabhupada told, “tader sila, tader noda, tai diye bhangi tader danter goda” or the scientific preaching mission means to take the tools of scientific propaganda, and utilize them to break their own atheistic foundation by proving to them that their so called material foundation is insubstantial, not concrete. The real concrete substantial ground is that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the original life and the individual jivas are his parts and parcels (vibhinna amsa). Srila Sridhar maharaja explained that consciousness is the foundation of everything. Everything comes from within consciousness. He had given blessings to the scientific preaching mission when Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodar Maharaja and the other devotee scientists went to him for advice. He encouraged Sripad Maharaja by saying that he would be an advisor to the movement. His valuable advice is recorded in the ‘Subjective Evolution of Consciousness.’ His regular keen interest in the progress of scientific preaching mission is our great encouragement and a great treasure house of pearls from the ocean of devotional conclusions about Reality. Srila Sridhar Maharaja was himself a great preacher among the leaders. By his preaching many Barristers, Scholars and Scientists all over India in the early part of his life and later from all over the world, came under the flag of Sriman Mahaprabhu. Even Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda-dev Goswami Maharaja was very pleased when Sripad Bhakti Niskam Shanta Maharaja had told him about our service of preaching to the scientists which we are doing under Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja. Pleased by this Srila Govinda Maharaja said, “Service to Puri Maharaja is service to me.” Once just four days prior to leaving his prakata lila, he had asked my humble self (Bhakti Vijnana Muni) in great detail what service I was doing. When I said that I was engaging in scientific preaching in colleges and universities under the guidance of Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja, by the order of Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodar Maharaja, he felt satisfied. Srila Acharyadev also asked us to tell the scientists whether they can make a living being in the laboratories.

Srila Prabhupada envisioned that if leaders of the human society, namely the scientists were convinced about the truth of the Krishna Consciousness philosophy by the teachings of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, it will bring a great revolution in the whole world. Scientists are preaching to the whole world about Darwin and Big Bang theory. They are preaching a materialistic account of the origin of the universe and life. If they are convinced and transformed they will discuss and preach the message of Mahaprabhu themselves and the path of the preaching movement will be clear.

Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodar Maharaja had himself organized many conferences all over the world and Srila Prabhupada expressed his full satisfaction after he had organized the first conference in Vrindavan in 1977. Srila Prabhupada was convinced that this would bring prestige to Mahaprabhu’s mission within the human society.

As poor Sannyasis, we are dependent on the Lord’s mercy for Lakshmi to support our scientific preaching services. The Guru Parampara advises that Sannyasis are beggars and by collecting alms they will serve the Guru and the Supreme Lord. For the satisfaction of Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga, we are begging that please contribute generously for the upcoming conference in Bhubaneshwar. We have to arrange for the travelling of the speakers, stay, as well as printing of preaching materials and other expenses. To send your donations please visit: www.scienceandscientist.org/donate

Divine Message

"My religion is finding fault within myself. My own faults should be more than enough for me to focus on how to deal with them, how to adjust, to eliminate."- Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaja

Divine Message of Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Dev-Goswami Maharaja to Students and Youth